It's all good for Walker in latest Marquette poll

MADISON — It’s hard to analyze theMarquette Law School poll released Wednesday and not say that things are looking pretty bright for Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP, less than a week before Tuesday’s recall elections.

It’s not just that Walker’s lead over his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, has grown to 7 percent, a 52-45 percent edge among likely voters that the pollster said "falls slightly short of statistical significance."

It’s not even that a slim majority, 52 percent, think Wisconsin is on the right track.

No, the biggest problem for Democrats may be that their key criticisms of Walker don’t seem to be gaining traction with the Wisconsin electorate.

The John Doe investigation into the actions of Walker's former aides who served in his office while he was Milwaukee County executive?

That issue made it into Barrett’s opening remarks Friday night during the candidates’ first debate.

“This isn’t a rematch or a do-over because we can’t do over the fact that Scott Walker’s administration has been investigated, a criminal investigation that looks at the activities of some of his key aides while he was county executive, and his decision, his refusal to release secret emails that were on a system that was in his county executive office and his failure to tell us who is raising his (criminal defense) funds,” Barrett said.

The Marquette poll of 720 registered voters was conducted May 23-26, mostly before Barrett made those remarks.

But although the John Doe investigation has been a familiar theme in Democratic campaign ads for weeks, the poll indicates people care less about the issue now than they did in February, right after charges were filed against some of Walker’s former staff members.

Seventy-seven percent of those polled last week said they had heard or read about the John Doe investigation, up 5 percentage points from February.

“There’s an awful lot of news stories that are important news stories that don’t hit 77 percent of the public,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin, who is conducting Marquette's polls.

But 47 percent of those polled said the John Doe issue is “just more politics,” compared to 46 percent who said it’s “really something serious.”

In February, fewer had heard of the investigation, and only 40 percent of those polled said it was “just more politics,” versus 50 percent who said it was a serious issue.

Walker seems to be winning on jobs perception as well.

Democrats and Republicans have been sparring over job-creation and unemployment numbers for months — no surprise, since it’s the No. 1 issue on voters’ mind.

But the discussion got particularly heated a few weeks ago when the state Department of Workforce Development, which is part of Walker’s administration, took the unprecedented step of releasing revised 2011 jobs numbers, months before they’re normally announced.

The DWD report showed that Wisconsin gained more than 23,000 jobs last year, contradicting an earlier U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study that said Wisconsin lost more jobs in 2011 than any other state.

The numbers were released one day before the scheduled DWD release of April’s unemployment numbers, which showed Wisconsin lost 5,900 jobs that month, including 6,200 in the private sector.

Critics said Walker was using his administration for political purposes.

Walker’s campaign said the numbers prove Walker is improving Wisconsin, and turned the criticism back on Barrett for overseeing a city with an increase in unemployment.

“The policies Barrett has implemented in his city have proven detrimental and Wisconsin cannot afford to let him take the state back to the failed days of record-setting job loss and double-digit tax increases,” Walker spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said in a statement after the DWD report was released.

But the Marquette numbers skew strongly in Walker’s favor: In Marquette’s poll released two weeks ago, 20 percent of those polled said Wisconsin has more jobs now than it did a year ago. That’s up to 38 percent in the poll released Wednesday — an 18-percent increase in two weeks.

Regards the job numbers: just think what will happen once we are rid of the incessant efforts to undermine our state government. I as a small businessman will not invest a dime in equipment and upgrades until I am certain that the advances since early 2010 are assured.

I can only imagine the thoughts of a CEO who is contemplating relocating a business operation. They must be horrified looking at Wisconsin politics from the outside. At least we still look good as compared to Illinois, even with our misguided recall process.

WI VOTER

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF ANY “POSSIBLE” VOTER FRAUD FROM EITHER SIDE…!!!

SIMPLY STATE YOUR NAME AND THEN SIGN “YOUR” NAME IN “YOUR” SPACE IN INK… SO NOBODY ELSE CAN USE YOUR VOTE…TAKE A SERIOUS STAND IF THERE IS “ANY PROBLEM” WITH YOURS!!!!!

LET THE GAB SORT IT ALL OUT WHEN IT IS DONE…AS IS THEIR SWORN CHARGE!

IF THERE IS ANY VOTER FRAUD FOUND…THEY “MUST” BE PROSECUTED “AND” PUNISHED TO THE “FULLEST EXTENT” OF THE LAW AND THERE MUST BE ACCOUNTABILITY ESTABLISHED TO HEAD IT OFF “BEFORE” ANY FURTHER FRAUDULANT VOTES CAN BE CAST IN THAT MANNER.

JUST LIKE FIRING A GUN…ONCE THEY ARE CAST…IT IS TOO LATE TO CALL THEM BACK!

PULLING RANDOM VOTES TO “FIX” ANY POSSIBLE VOTER FRAUD PROBLEM IS “NOT” AN ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM!

GOOD LUCK!

Dennis Math

I have lived in Wisconsin for 7 years and until this last year I saw large property tax increases each year. This past year I saw a steep drop in my property tax rate. It remains high in comparison to the state I came from (Wyoming), but a decrease is a decrease. And how anyone can vote for the person overseeing the embarrassment of a city that Milwaukee is simply blows my mind. Other than Detroit I have never seen such a sight of urban decay the likes of Milwaukee.

Mr Walker did absolutely nothing other than exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for office. How do you fault a man for being honest and for making Wisconsin a place of pride across the country. Has anyone spoken to anyone from out of state about Governor Walker? His strength and “guts” in confronting the Unions and their thug tactics are well known throughout the country.

We have a Governor that most people in other states wish they had. One that actually did what he said he was going to do. He balanced the budget. Has allowed for teachers to be given raises based on performance rather than the length of time they have been employed. Given new hires a choice as to whether or not to allow for the taking of union dues for purposes they have no control over. I am proud to have Governor Walker as our Governor and will be completely embarrassed if somehow (probably union fraudulent activity), he fails and is recalled.

Wisconsin, you have a choice. You must remember that it is Barrett that has the F rating from the NRA not the A+ that Governor Walker has. Do you want your Constitutional rights or do you want some failed Mayor from a dying city to take them away? Do you want a man that simply did what he promised to do or do you want the entirety of the state to go the way of the disgrace that Milwaukee is? It is that simple. Vote with your brain and PLEASE someone watch for voter fraud in the upcoming election. The Unions have proven one thing time and time again, they are simply organized crime and earn the crime part of their title with every move they make.

Dannyboy

Dennis you certainly hit the nail on the head! Lets hope the good folks in Wisconsin will carry their state and Governor forward and leave those cro-magnon rabbit clubbers in the dust.

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